National Sleep Foundation Names 2 New Leaders

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 20, 2022)—The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has named Katrina Loraine Amos Washington as the new senior director, business development and strategic partnerships, and Joseph Dzierzewski, PhD, as vice president, research and scientific affairs. For more than 30 years, NSF has been the leading voice in sleep health for the public.

In her role, Washington will oversee the development of new strategic partnerships across stakeholder groups to support NSF’s mission delivery. Before joining NSF, Washington served as the director of member services and engagement at the National League of Cities, where she oversaw the strategy and implementation of member recruitment, retention, and engagement initiatives. Washington comes to NSF with over 15 years of demonstrated success in business development, relationship building, and project management in both for-profit and non-profit settings, with previous roles at the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association, and US Foods. 

“I am thrilled to be joining NSF at an important time when we are engaging a range of supporters who, like us, are committed to advancing the public’s sleep health,” Washington said.

Dzierzewski is the organization’s first vice president of research and scientific affairs and is charged with leading the development of NSF’s scientific platform, which includes overseeing the development of NSF’s sleep health guidelines and other sleep health research activities. Dzierzewski most recently was associate professor, Department of Psychology, at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was a widely published and well-funded investigator, and served as the concentration director for the Behavioral Medicine Program. He has also served on numerous scientific review committees for both the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and National Institutes of Health, as well as serving as an associate editor for several academic journals. His educational background is in clinical health psychology, focusing on behavioral sleep medicine. Dzierzewski will also serve as an NSF sleep expert for media and industry partnerships. 

“Building on my past roles, I’m excited to join NSF and continue my work in sleep health from a new angle, helping the public through consensus-driven and evidence-based tools.” Dzierzewski said.

“I am pleased to welcome both Katrina and Joe to NSF. They bring years of experience to their respective roles, and both of them will help ensure NSF continues to fulfill its promise to help anyone and everyone be their Best Slept Self,” said John Lopos, CEO of National Sleep Foundation.

Visit thensf.org for more information.